of Mrs.
Ferrars, as well as not knowing how to get to Plymouth; for Lucy it
seems borrowed all her money before she went off to be married, on
purpose we suppose to make a show with, and poor Nancy had not seven
shillings in the world;--so I was very glad to give her five guineas
to take her down to Exeter, where she thinks of staying three or four
weeks with Mrs. Burgess, in hopes, as I tell her, to fall in with the
Doctor again. And I must say that Lucy's crossness not to take them
along with them in the chaise is worse than all. Poor Mr. Edward! I
cannot get him out of my head, but you must send for him to Barton,
and Miss Marianne must try to comfort him."

Mr. Dashwood's strains were more solemn. Mrs. Ferrars was the most
unfortunate of women--poor Fanny had suffered agonies of
sensibility--and he considered the existence of each, under such a
blow, with grateful wonder. Robert's offence was unpardonable, but
Lucy's was infinitely worse. Neither of them were ever again to be
mentioned to Mrs. Ferrars; and even, if she might hereafter be induced
to forgive her son, his wife should never be acknowledged as her
daughter, nor be permitted to appear in her presence. The secrecy with
which everything had been carried on between them, was rationally
treated as enormously heightening the crime, because, had any
suspicion of it occurred to the others, proper measures would have
been taken to prevent the marriage; and he called on Elinor to join
with him in regretting that Lucy's engagement with Edward had not
rather been fulfilled, than that she should thus be the means of
spreading misery farther in the family. He thus continued:--

"Mrs. Ferrars has never yet mentioned Edward's name, which does not
surprise us; but, to our great astonishment, not a line has been
received from him on the occasion. Perhaps, however, he is kept silent
by his fear of offending, and I shall, therefore, give him a hint, by
a line to Oxford, that his sister and I both think a letter of proper
submission from him, addressed perhaps to Fanny, and by her shown to
her mother, might not be taken amiss; for we all know the tenderness
of Mrs. Ferrars's heart, and that she wishes for nothing so much as to
be on good terms with her children."

This paragraph was of some importance to the prospects and conduct of
Edward. It determined him to attempt a reconciliation, though not
exactly in the manner pointed out by their brother and sister.

"A lette